Biocatalysts and methods for the synthesis of (S)-3-(1-aminoethyl)-phenol

Abstract

The present disclosure provides engineered transaminase polypeptides having improved properties as compared to naturally occurring transaminases including the ability of converting the substrate, 3′-hydroxyacetophenone to (S)-3-(1-aminoethyl)-phenol in enantiomeric excess and high percentage conversion. Also provided are polynucleotides encoding the engineered transaminases, host cells capable of expressing the engineered transaminases, and methods of using the engineered transaminases to synthesize (S)-3-(1-aminoethyl)-phenol and related compounds useful in the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A polynucleotide encoding the polypeptide having transaminase activity comprising an amino acid sequence having at least 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 2 and amino acid residue differences as compared to SEQ ID NO: 2 at one or more positions selected from G18, K163, A235, P244, A323, A383, C424, and F427. 
     
     
       2. An expression vector comprising the polynucleotide of  claim 1 . 
     
     
       3. A host cell comprising the polynucleotide of  claim 1 .